Bleeding Hearts
by London1
Summary: RGB. Heavy Hearts Challenge. Chapter 2 is now up! PeterOC. R&R! I'll add more when I get a review.
1. Running Hot and Cold

Bleeding Hearts

By London

Disclaimer: I don't own the Ghostbusters.

Note: Heavy Heart Challenge. Check the forums for more info.

Chapter 1: Running Hot and Cold

The New York wind was cold and wet. It cut into crevices and nipped the faces of everyone who was outside. The blonde, who was unfortunate enough to be hit in the face by a half dozen leaves, pulled her long wool coat closer to herself. It was supposed to be summer still, but the autumn colors were starting to speckle the trees despite it being September.

The girl, Jo Bateman, hurried down the street. She had a death grip on her bag, which was slung around her body in a casual style, and she wished that she had brought a hat. Her numb ears were starting to feel awful.

The wind howled around her. It seemed more ferocious then before and threatened rain. Jo looked up at her building, which was only a half block away. It was old, but she had a cool apartment that she rented for what NYC would call 'cheap'. She quickly hurried to get out of the wind and the sudden, slow drops of rain.

Blocks away, in a converted firehouse, Peter Venkman, ghostbuster and parapsychologist, was going through a pile of bills and invoices. He was down to his slacks and his undershirt, a white tank top that was nearly soaked through. GBHQ was over heating and Ray Stanz, fellow ghostbuster, had attempted to fix the problem for the last few days.

Peter looked at the outrageous bills from the city. There were so many taxes and people wanted to be paid for silly things. Peter brushed his brown hair out of his face and tried understand why the EPA wanted over five thousand dollars from them.

Sweat ran down Peter's back in an annoying trickle. He barely felt it now. His shirt was already wet and his pants stuck to him in an unflattering way. He groaned and stood up, dropping the papers into a heap on his desk.

"Ray!" Peter yelled, irritated, from the doorway of his office. "What's the god damn problem?! Did we merge with Hell?! Christ! Just call the god damn repair man!"

Peter's voice echoed throughout the first floor. Janine, the secretary who was in shorts and a tank top, looked partially irritated at the yelling, partially irritated with the heat, and looked somewhat pleased that despite everything it wasn't freezing cold.

"Do you really think he can hear you, Dr. Venkman?" Janine asked over her paperwork. Peter narrowed his eyes.

"He can hear me" Peter growled. "How're those invoices coming along? Everything up to speed?"

"I think we're missing a few" Janine said. Peter cursed under his breathe. Before the heating problem occurred, Slimer had managed to mess up the entire filing system. Peter was sure that the small ghost had also broken the heating unit in the basement.

"I have some stuff in my office" Peter said. "I'll let you have what I found. Maybe we'll get through all of this shit by Christmas."

"Yeah, and maybe I'm Balinese pirate" Janine said in dismay. Peter retrieved the small stack of invoices that he had found and handed them over to Janine. "It's too bad we have to keep this stuff around for a few years. It would be nice to be entirely digital."

"Ghosts and digital equipment sometimes don't mix" Peter said grumpily. He went back into his office. For the first day of the heating problem he had tried to leave the door to the station open, but with the winds raging through New York, the paperwork had gone everywhere. The week had been slow and the paperwork seemed to make it creep at a snail's pace.

The paperwork in his office greeted him like a bad habit. The pile reminded him of a trash heap. Sweat trickled down his back again and the heat swelled in a suffocating manner. Peter's temper flared again and he shoved the papers off of his desk in one swoop. Pens and pencils went flying. His tape dispenser, stapler, and stress ball all hit the floor with a dull thud. Peter flung his hand around and knocked his desk lamp off of the desk, the bulb shattering when it collided with the floor.

"Shit!" Was all that came out of the office. Peter lunged for the window and tugged it open desperately. The rush of cold, windy air hit him like a brick. He breathed like a man who had been drowning and now had air.

His nose felt strange. Did he need to blow it? Peter reached up as he felt something wet around his nostril. Blood. His fingers came back bloody from the drastic temperature change. He pulled his head back into the building and retrieved a fist full of Kleenex. He shoved them to his nose and looked up to find Janine watching him with wide eyes from her desk.

It took only a moment, but he slammed his office door shut and moved his chair so he could sit next to the open window.

Jo Bateman opened up her apartment door and groaned. Her apartment was trashed yet again. The building super had asked for the residents not to call the ghostbusters in for the ghost and claimed that it must be the spirit of the super's grandfather.

Jo dropped her bag and went through the apartment, trying to clean things up. It was awful trying to keep this ghost at bay. She had even seen it once. It had been a purplish glowing thing that looked somewhat human. The creepy part was that it had no eyes, just black sockets. It had moved through her door, looked at her, cut loose a loud shriek, and vanished.

The kitchen was tidy, much to Jo's relief. The living room/bedroom was a mess of clothes and books and various things that had been carelessly thrown about. Jo turned on the television and picked up the mess that her living room/bedroom area was in.

"…Do you believe in spooks, specters, or ghosts?" The tv said with a fairly common, yet unusual, commercial. "Call the ghostbusters today!"

Jo grumbled to herself and glanced up at the phone number and address. They weren't too far away from where she lived, only a few blocks. She picked up an open jar of honey and groaned when she realized that half of her clothes were in the mess.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Jo yelled. She looked up at the television, which was now showing a commercial for cereal. She collected her clothes and threw them all into a laundry basket. At least her building had a washer and dryer on each floor.

Jo retrieved a small bucket of soapy water and a sponge and started to clean up the honey. She looked up when her tv started to change channels by itself. She looked at the floor, to the tv, and back to the floor. She quickly cleaned up the mess.

In an annoyed huff, she pulled her coat on and left to find the ghostbusters.

"Dr. Venkman?" Janine called, knocking on his office door. "Peter? It's 5:30. I need to take off now. I promised my mother I'd be over for dinner tonight." There was only silence behind the door. Janine knocked again. "Peter?"

The door flung open, sending Janine a few steps back.

"Fine" Peter gruffed. His nose was rimmed with blood and he still had the bloody Kleenex in his hand. "Go. Have a good night."

"What happened to you?" Janine asked. "Did the desk win?"

"Just a bloody nose" Peter grumbled. He moved past her and checked the thermostat. "It's still 97 degrees in here! What the hell has Ray been doing?"

"I don't know" Janine said. "He told me not to call anyone because he would take care of it."

"If this isn't fixed by tomorrow, call someone" Peter said. "I can't work with the heat like this."

"Tomorrow is Saturday" Janine said. "I have tomorrow off."

"Today can't be Friday" Peter said. "I'm supposed to have lunch with my dad on Friday at that little Chinese place on 14th."

"Today is Friday" Janine said. Peter groaned and hit the wall. His nose twitched and the blood started to trickle out again. "Do you need me to get you a new Kleenex?"

"Oh no" Peter said sarcastically. "I'm attached to this one. I'd just get a new one dirty."

Janine shook her head and handed him a few fresh tissues. She started to collect her things.

"Have you seen Egon today?" Peter asked. He tried to sound casual, but with his nose blocked by tissues he sounded like he was prying.

"He's been in his lab for a few days" Janine said. "Since the heat went out."

"Since the heat went out huh?" Peter said. "Janine? Do you know if the heat is out because of Egon?"

"I don't know" Janine said. "I've been helping you with paperwork. I haven't checked on Egon."

"If that science nerd has anything to do with this heating problem, I swear I'll kill him" Peter said. He mumbled something under his breath as he moved back towards his office.

The station door opened and a cool gust of wind broke through the heat. Janine looked up to see a rain-soaked blonde woman walking towards her.

"Whew! Its hot in here" The blonde said.

"Uh, yeah" Janine replied. "Can I help you?"

The blonde looked around and noticed the dim lights.

"Are you guys closed for the night?" The blonde asked. Janine was about to open her mouth, but the blonde continued. "I'm Joline Bateman, call me Jo. I had a few questions about ghosts. I have one, you see, actually, no. My whole building has one."

"Hang on, Miss Bateman" Janine said. "Let me get Dr. Venkman for you." Jo started to unbutton her damp coat when she was startled by the red-headed secretary. "Dr. VenkMAN!"

There was some movement behind the office door and it sure enough swung open, revealing a tan, well-toned, Dr. Venkman. He still had a wad of tissues pressed to his nose.

"Janine, I got that intercom for a –" Peter said. He stopped when he noticed the blonde standing next to Janine. He removed the tissue, trying to make sure that he wasn't bleeding any more, and stuck out his hand. "Hi. I'm Dr. Peter Venkman."

"Joline Bateman. Call me Jo" Jo said with a smile. Peter gestured towards his office. The mess from earlier had easily been picked up and Peter was glad that he didn't just leave it for the morning. He moved to the windows and opened to others, drastically changing the temperature. Jo took a seat and watched as Peter put heavy objects on his piles of paper. "Why is it so hot in here?"

"I'm not sure" Peter said. "It was supposed to be fixed today." He sat down and looked at her. "So, you have a ghost?"

"My whole building has a ghost" Joline said. She rattled off the story and finished by telling him about her honey-soaked shirts.

"I can make a house call" Peter said. "We can see what we can do. Perhaps there's something minor that this ghost needs before it can cross over."

"You'd do that?" Joline asked.

"Of course. You have to let me change first" Peter said. Joline had indeed noticed his drenched shirt and nodded.

"I'll wait outside, Dr. Venkman" Joline said.

Outside of the hot firehouse the cold winds pressed on from the east. They had blown all the way from the north Atlantic, bringing with it, not only chilly wind, but a small windswept faery. As the wind pounded into the city, the small faery found himself in Rockefeller Center, staring at a golden statue.

"Oy!" The faery groaned. His accent was thick and Irish. He pulled a pipe from his belt pouch and let it hang from his lips. "No' a lucky day fer me ol' bones."

The faery was unlike most faeries. He was sometimes mistaken for a leprechaun since he sported red hair and a thin beard. His clothes were brown and green. His eyes were big and blue. He didn't have any wings, but he certainly knew how to fly.

In an instant he took off to see where the wind had taken him.


	2. Chilly Nights

Chapter 2: Chilly Nights

Peter had changed from his sweat drenched clothes to a pair of jeans and a sweater. After being in an overly hot firehouse all week, the windy air outside seemed colder then it really was.

"I hope you live close by" Peter said shoving his hands into his pockets. Jo smiled and led him a few more blocks away from the firehouse.

"This is it" Joline said finally. They stood outside of her building for a minute. The building was made from some kind of stone, like many New York buildings. Near the entrance the year 1842 was engraved into a block, along with the name Watson.

"1842, what a good year" Peter said before following Joline inside. Joline moved to the antiquated elevator and pressed the button pointing up. "So you said this ghost haunts the whole building?"

"Supposedly. I haven't heard of anyone ever having problems though" Joline replied. "The super doesn't want anyone to get rid of the ghost, but its really becoming a problem."

The elevator creaked open and they stepped inside. Peter leaned against the side as they rode up to the fourth floor.

"Well, we don't want you getting in trouble" Peter said. "We'll just call this a consultation."

"Dr. Venkman, I just want this ghost to leave me alone" Joline replied. He smiled.

"Please, call me Peter" Peter replied. The elevator came to a jerking halt and the door opened. They both stepped out and Peter followed Jo down the hall to the far apartment.

"Oh no" Jo said once she had her door open and her lights turned on. Her bed was stripped clean and the sheets were hanging from the ceiling fan. "Great."

"Sheek" Peter said. He walked over and pulled the sheets down. "I'm guessing that this wasn't your usual decorating style."

"Far from it" Jo said grumpily. She took the sheets and tossed them into the laundry basket. She talked as she pulled out more bedding. "This is what I usually come home to, only lately it's been happening with my clothes and bedding and curtains."

"Have you ever seen this ghost?" Peter asked. He pulled a small device from his pocket that beeped when it got close to the fan and the laundry basket. "Looks like you have some ectoplasm residue in here."

"Isn't that nice? The ghost left something behind" Jo said sarcastically. She tucked in a corner. "I saw the ghost. It was purplish, had no eyes, and it screamed at me. That was a few months ago."

"You haven't seen it since?" Peter asked. He poked at a honey stained shirt.

"Nope. Just that one time. It always does stuff when I'm not here" Jo said.

"What do you do?" Peter asked. He pulled a small screw cap vial from his pocket and scooped up a little honey and goo from the shirt. Egon would have his hide if he didn't bring something back.

"What're you doing?" Jo asked. Peter looked up at her. "I'm the floor director for the Kay Simon Show."

"Is she the lady on daytime tv who hates men, yet always seems to have a man on her show?" Peter asked.

"Yeah, that'd be her" Jo said. She changed the pillowcases and pulled a comforter from a shelf to put on her bed. Peter stood up, putting the vial and his gadget in his coat pocket.

"Here's what I need to do" Peter said. "I need to analyze the sample I took from one of your shirts to see what comes up. I also need to retrieve some equipment if I want to take any serious readings. Does anything ever happen at night?"

"Sometimes I wake up to the fridge being open or the television will be on" Jo said. She sighed and sat on the edge of her freshly made bed.

"I think setting up a hidden camera would be wise" Peter said. "Just for a night and a day. 24 hours. We'll see if we catch anything and we'll see if there's any sort of pattern."

"When do you want to do that?" Jo asked. Peter shrugged and ran a hand through his hair.

"When you have time" Peter said. "The ghostbusters work 24-7."

"What's the price for 24 hour surveillance?" Jo asked.

"We generally work out a price after we catch a ghost" Peter said. Jo raised her eyebrow and Peter smirked. "For surveillance, $100. That includes a ghostbuster being here, us providing you a room for the night at our station, or you can decline and be by yourself."

"A hundred dollars?!" Jo said. She stood up and walked into her kitchen, which was only separated from the rest of the apartment by a strip of counter. "I could borrow a camera from the studio—"

"We have other equipment that we set up" Peter interjected. "Believe me, if it was just video surveillance, we wouldn't be needed." Peter moved to sit on a stool that was at the counter. "Look, Jo, I think it would be best if you came back to the station with me for the night. I can send Ray over with some equipment. We'll get it all set up nicely. You can come back in twenty-four hours."

Jo held up a pitcher of water and Peter nodded. "Why do I get the feeling that you have a double meaning behind your words?" She handed him a glass of water and poured one for herself.

"You think this is how I get my dates?" Peter asked. "I'm crushed."

"Right" Jo said under her breath. Peter sucked down his water. "I guess the station is going to be just as hot as it was earlier?"

"Probably" Peter said. Jo finished her water and moved to collect a bag full of things.

Somewhere in Central Park, the strange little faery-man found himself watching a bunch of caged animals roam to and fro at the Central Park Zoo. He shook his head at the strange ways of the world. The sky had turned dark and there weren't so many people in the park as there were before.

Floating gently amongst the tree branches, the small faery lit his pipe and followed a couple, who looked to be fighting over something. They yelled and would look embarrassed if they thought someone was around. The faery groaned and floated to them.

"Oh my god!" The girl shrieked. The faery man hovered before them.

"Have no fear, lass" He said with a smile. "Ye two shou' remember why it twas tha' ye fell in love in tha firs' place." As the faery spoke, the two looked at each other. They almost seemed to be in a daze. The faery hovered closer to them and moved them so they were hand in hand. "Be good an' go be in love."

The couple walked away, as if in a daze. The red headed fae just smiled and laughed as they walked away.

"…And this is our living quarters" Peter said finishing up his tour of the station. Jo looked around appreciating the space. The station was still overly hot, but it didn't seem too bad. Peter led her into the bunk room, which they had finally divided up into small rooms. "This is our bunk room. We have two spare rooms at the end of the hall."

The doors each had a metal plaque that had names displayed.

"I didn't realize that you all slept here" Jo said. Peter nodded.

"It saves our paychecks" Peter replied. He pointed to the door at the end of the hall. "The bathroom is down there."

Joline moved to look into room one, which was next to Peter's room. It had a small single bed, a chair, and a coat hook. There was a small bedside table that only served to hold a lamp and digital clock. Jo put her stuff in the room.

"Would you mind if I changed into something a little lighter?" Jo asked. Peter shook his head no and went to do the same. Peter found Jo in the room that served as a living room, a game room, a mini-bar, and a dining room. She was looking through a bookcase of books.

"Did you eat?" Peter asked. They were both in baggy lounge pants and tank tops.

"No" Joline replied. She pulled a rubber band from her pocket and mindlessly put her hair into a loose bun. Peter picked up the phone.

"How does pizza sound?" Peter asked. Joline smiled. Winston and Ray came into the room looking tired and overheated. "Hey boys. This is Joline Bateman, a client. I need someone to go to her place and set up surveillance." Peter dialed the number for the pizza place he usually ordered from and walked to lean against the bar.

"Hi. I'm Dr. Ray Stanz, this is my associate, Winston Zeddemore" Ray said shaking Joline's hand.

"Call me Jo" Jo said with a smile. "You two look tired."

"Yeah, we just got the heater fixed" Winston said. "I think I probably lost twenty pounds just from all the sweating."

"I can imagine" Jo said.

"If you'll excuse us for a minute. We should change and shower" Ray said.

"Pepperoni okay?" Peter asked. Joline nodded. "Hey, you two want some pizza?"

"Sure" Ray and Winston said at the same time. Peter finished putting in the order and put the phone back into its receiver. He jumped over the back of the couch and turned on the television.

"So, care to watch the tube while waiting for pizza?" Peter asked.

"Shouldn't we be concerned about getting your surveillance equipment set up in my apartment?" Jo asked. She moved to sit at the far edge of the couch. Peter scoffed and flipped through the channels.

"I'll get Ray to go" Peter said. "He can get it all set up in about fifteen minutes. It takes me about thirty."

"Oh" Jo said. It didn't take long for Ray and Winston to emerge from the bunk room clean and dressed in more relaxed attire. The pizza had been delivered and they were all enjoying pepperoni pizza.

"So, Ray, Jo here needs some surveillance equipment set up at her place" Peter said between bites. He wiped at his mouth with a napkin.

"Aw Pete" Ray groaned. "You should have taken the equipment over there yourself."

"Hey, I was being a host for our guest" Peter said. Ray nodded and glanced at the television, which was set to some sitcom.

"Thanks for the slice of pizza, Peter" Winston said. He had only eaten one slice while drinking almost a liter of water. "I'm pooped man. I'm going to bed. Don't wake me unless it's an emergency and, even then, give me enough time to hit the snooze."

"Night, Winston" Ray called. Peter nodded and chewed his mouth full of pizza. "So, Joline, what do you do?"

"I'm the floor director for the Kay Simon Show" Jo said. She wiped her mouth and shivered. The temperature had drastically dropped from the upper 90s down to somewhere in the 60s. "Ever watch the show?"

"Sometimes, but I'm usually in the middle of something" Ray said. "Sorry."

"It's okay" Joline said with a smile. She pulled herself tighter together in her chair. "Our target demographic would pretty much consist of women from twenty-five to sixty-five, so no problems."

"So what kind of ghost problem do you have?" Ray asked. Jo recounted her story for Ray, who seemed to grow more interested. By the time Jo was done, Ray was making mental notes about the kind of surveillance equipment to take over to her place. Ray left with the equipment, Jo's keys, and with the excitement that a new case always brought to his face.

The couch was surrounded by darkness, except for the light that emanated from the television. Peter and Jo had both pulled on sweaters and were in the midst of watching a late night horror movie. The door, near the bar, opened up with a minute creak. On the television screen, the killer slowly stalked up towards the unsuspecting girl and –

"Peter? Why are the lights off?" Egon asked. Jo gasped and turned around to see who was in the room. Peter coughed, trying not to spit out the sip he had just taken from his drink.

"Egon!" Peter said. Beyond Egon a tired green ghost hovered.

"Oh my god, there's something behind you!" Jo said. Egon looked and shook his head.

"That would be our resident ghost, Slimer" Egon replied. "He won't cause you any harm, though I apologize for him if you happen to touch him."

"You guys have a resident ghost?" Jo asked Peter. He nodded and smirked.

"Since it looks like Peter isn't going to do it, I'll make the introductions" Egon said. He turned on a lamp and held out his hand. "I'm Dr. Egon Spengler."

"I'm Joline Bateman" Jo said.

"Friend of Peter?" Egon asked.

"Client" Peter said. Egon smiled. "Her place is haunted and we're doing a 24-hour surveillance. Ray set up the equipment a few hours ago."

"I'll let you tell me about it in the morning" Egon said. Peter picked up a vial from the coffee table. He had waited for Egon to finally come upstairs so he could give him the sample from Jo's place.

"I have something for you, Spengs" Peter said holding up the sample. "A mixture of honey and ectoplasm from her apartment."

Egon took the sample and held it towards the lamp. The honey made the sample glow an amber color. Egon rubbed his face.

"I'll look at it first thing in the morning" Egon replied. He stood there for a moment. "I guess Ray and Winston fixed the heater. It feels like it's about 50 degrees in here."

"Hence our sweaters" Peter said.

"Just take care. I think it's going to be one chilly night" Egon replied. He disappeared into the bunk room with Slimer trailing after him, leaving Peter and Jo to finish their horror movie.


End file.
